Quinn and Tennent: Powell endorsed Obama because "he's tired of being called an Oreo," "an Uncle Tom"

Quinn & Rose co-host Rose Tennent asserted that former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Sen. Barack Obama "because he doesn't want to be known as an Uncle Tom anymore. He wants to be black again." Co-host Jim Quinn later said of Powell, "He's tired of being called an Oreo."

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On the October 20 broadcast of The War Room with Quinn & Rose, co-host Rose Tennent asserted that former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Sen. Barack Obama "because he doesn't want to be known as an Uncle Tom anymore. He wants to be black again." Co-host Jim Quinn later said of Powell, "He's tired of being called an Oreo." Additionally, during the segment, Quinn said of Powell, "[R]emember, when he was in the Bush administration, he was a white guy." Tennent responded: "Blacks hated him. They -- 'Oh, he doesn't count. It doesn't count that you have someone black in the administration. He's not really black, he's an Uncle Tom.' "

Tennent later stated, "He did endorse another black candidate once, Colin Powell -- a Democrat -- I'm going to have to look it up to see who it was, but he did do that before. So, you know, when we talk about racism and racists, I think that this is racism."

From the October 20 broadcast of Clear Channel's The War Room with Quinn & Rose:

TENNENT: I think -- when you told me this yesterday, I said to you, "Jim, he doesn't want to be known as an Uncle Tom anymore. He wants to be black again."

QUINN: And I said --

TENNENT: And that is it.

QUINN: -- and I said, "Brilliant observation," because, I mean, remember, when he was in the Bush administration, he was a white guy.

TENNENT: Yup.

QUINN: He was a white guy.

TENNENT: Blacks hated him. They -- "Oh, he doesn't count. It doesn't count that you have someone black in the administration. He's not really black, he's an Uncle Tom."

QUINN: He's black by popular demand.

TENNENT: Yay!

QUINN: He's back and he's black. He's got his creds back. Is that -- I mean, maybe he's -- look, you could be very right here. He's tired of being called an Oreo. He was nothing but vilified by -- you know, whenever those of us on the right would say, "Well, you know, Bush has got a black secretary of state," they'd say, "Oh, yeah, right -- Colin Powell. Yeah, sure."

TENNENT: That doesn't count.

QUINN: And now the shoe is on the other foot.

TENNENT: Well, you know, and I -- oh, I can't remember, it just hit me right now. He did endorse another black candidate once, Colin Powell -- a Democrat -- I'm going to have to look it up to see who it was, but he did do that before. So, you know, when we talk about racism and racists, I think that this is racism.

QUINN: Well, and you know, something else he said, he said he couldn't bear to see Republicans or Bush or whoever -- I forget exactly what the phrasing was -- appoint any more Supreme Court justices. So I guess he's got a problem with Clarence Thomas --

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